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If anything, Juventus Chief Football Officer Fabio Patatici is proving that Aaron Ramsey was not the end of the club’s midfield reinforcements this summer, but instead the beginning of it.
Just as it looks like Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot is about to sign on once his contract with the French champions is over at the end of the month, Paratici is setting his sights on even more talent. And this time it has to do with one of Italy’s young hotshots in the center of the park.
According to Nicolo Schira of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus tabled a €35 million bid for Roma teenager — and boyhood Juve fan — Nicolo Zanialo a few days ago. It, as you can probably imagine, was deemed much, much lower than Roma would even think about considering even with their roster being in complete flux this summer with another round of new leadership coming in.
La prima offerta della #Juventus alla #Roma nei giorni scorsi per Nicolò #Zaniolo è stata di 35 milioni. Una proposta ritenuta bassa dai giallorossi. Intanto #Paratici resta vigile e continua a portare avanti i contatti con l'agente del giocatore Vigorelli. #calciomercato
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) June 25, 2019
Fabio’s been a busy, busy fella, I can tell you that. But you’ve probably already figured that out.
Zaniolo, who burst onto the scene last season after moving from Inter to Roma as part of the deal that saw Radja Nainggolan head to the San Siro, has been in the midst of a relatively-lengthy contract extension dispute with Roma over the last handful of months. Knowing how Roma has operated over the last few years, it may only seem like a matter of time before they sell every one of their best assets for a big profit. Whether that includes Zaniolo this summer remains to be seen, obviously, but the fact that there have been rumors about the soon-to-be 20-year-old’s future at the club already isn’t exactly the most encouraging sign if you’re a Roma supporter.
Paratici, to his credit, is obviously trying to take advantage of an unknown situation when it comes to the immediate future at Roma. And by trying to sign Zaniolo, it’s another sign that one of Paratici’s main goals this summer is to make Juve’s midfield a lot more talented, a good amount younger and one that can grow up together as they gain more experience.
You know Moise Kean has probably talked about Juventus once or twice with Zaniolo during their time on international duty together over the last month. At least when they’re not late for team functions.